Sermon archive

This blog contains sermons listed by date, Bible passage and title

Name:
Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States

Sunday, August 17, 2008

14th Sunday after Pentecost 08/17/08 Text: Matthew 15:21-28 Title: Fences

14th Sunday after Pentecost
08/17/08
Text: Matthew 15:21-28
Title: Fences
Robert Frost one of America’s most famous poets once wrote a poem titled, The Mending Wall. There is one line in that poem that most of us are familiar with. It is where he is talking to his neighbor as they are repairing the fence that separates the two properties. “We wear our fingers rough with handling them. Oh, just another kind of out-door game, one on a side. It comes to little more: There where it is we do not need the wall: he is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'.”
Robert Frost bemoans the attitude of his neighbor even as he helps put the wall back into shape. He understands the need for fences when there is livestock on the property. Fences in that case do make good neighbors. I understand that statement, for it is a good thing to keep your animals out of your neighbor’s property.
As I thought about his poem I began to wonder about the real reason behind the putting up a wall or fence. Is it to keep something in or is it to keep something out? Maybe it is both, but I would wager that most walls or fences are about keeping others out.
In Jesus’ day there were fences. They were not the fences we are familiar with, unless you came from Vermont, for the fences of Jesus’ day were built of stone piled up on each other until the proper height was reached. Sometimes the height of the fences were in such a manner that you could not see over them.
Fences, whether they be walls of stones or wire are instruments of separation. Think about it. Why else would you build a fence except to separate one from another? And there is the problem. While fences are in themselves not bad things, it is the attitude of those building them that is harmful.
Our Gospel reading for today talks about fences, not actual fences, but fences never the less. It is about separation, the keeping out of those who do not fit the model imposed on them. It is about Jesus tearing down those fences. But before we get to this wonderful story of God’s grace we need to look at what happened before this incident, for knowing what happened will help us to understand why Jesus is acting the way he is. If you have your Bible please turn to the beginning of 15th chapter of Matthew.
We see in the first part of chapter 15 that Jesus is reprimanding the religious leaders for their twisting of the laws they had set up. Their hearts are corrupt and he not going to let them get by without commenting on their bad behavior. The Pharisees had passed a law stating that if a person dedicated something to God then whatever it was that was dedicated could not be used for something else because, after all it was not theirs, it belonged to God. Of course they still got to use it and keep the revenues generated by the property.
Jesus was all over them in a heartbeat, for he knew their hearts. He knew the reason behind the law was, as we read, to allow them to get to skirt the law that they were to care for their parents or relatives that could not take care of themselves.
Jesus reminded them that in their observing of this law designed to protect their wealth, they were breaking the Law of God because they were not honoring their parents. In other words they would let their parents live destitute lives to protect their fortunes. Now we are quick to jump on them, but I have had personal experience that have done much the same thing, by putting their money in a trust so that mom or dad could not get their hands on it because they were sick and would have used it all up. For them it was better for mom or dad to go on welfare than use up their money.
In verse 14 Jesus calls the religious leaders blind guides who are leading the blind and because of that both will fall into the trap. Peter, who should have known better by now, says to Jesus, “Explain the parable to us.” Jesus reprimands him, “Are you still without understanding?” He goes on teaching Peter and the disciples that external practices in themselves are not corrupt. They are good. What corrupts is what comes from the inside out, the reason behind the law, or tradition. That is why he tells them that what comes out of a person in speech or actions shows a person’s relationship with God. We don’t like to hear that, for it smacks of judging, but what else do you do with the Word of God, for he is telling the truth. Where else would all the things listed verse 19 come from, if not from the inside, from the person’s mind corrupted by sin?
Jesus in this encounter with the Canaanite woman is teaching his disciples a valuable lesson in the tearing down of fences, as you will soon see. To do so he needs to play the part of a God fearing Jew. It is not a hard part to play for after all he is a God fearing Jew.
Jesus and his disciples are in a region of the land that is of mixed ancestry. There were many Jews living in the region, but it was primarily Gentile country. As they were walking along a Canaanite woman started following them crying out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.” Here was this woman a long time enemy of the Jewish people, one who would be considered a dog, acknowledging that Jesus is the Messiah. Now that is remarkable, for even though the disciples have been following Jesus for quite some time, she is the first to truly know who Jesus is.
Jesus does not acknowledge her. He has to keep silent, so that, as we see her faith could be further expressed. Of course this Canaanite woman was a pain to the disciples, so they wanted Jesus to get rid of her.
In verse 24 we read a verse that astounds us, for we know that Jesus came to ransom all people, regardless of race, creed, or color when he says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Now all the God fearing Jews and I am sure the disciples along with them agreed with that statement, for after all they thought that Jesus was only going to free the Jewish people from the Roman empire and restore Israel to her former glory.
There are all kind of speculation as to why he treated the woman the way he did, but I think the only reason Jesus did what he did and said what he said, was to test the woman’s faith and in doing so reinforce what he had earlier taught them that what is important is what comes out of a person’s mouth and not who they are. Jesus is going to tear down a fence.
She would not give up, as we can see, so Jesus tells her, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” The disciples understood what Jesus was saying and the woman knew what he was saying. The Israelites were the children of God. In fact they were the only true children of God. And Jesus was the bread of life. He was telling her again that he did not come for others, but only the people of Israel. In a way, I think you could say he was setting her up for the response she gave him. He wanted her to show her faith so that he could bless her.
This woman, who would have been despised by a good Jew, who would not even given her a passing glance, was by her faith brought into Jesus’ inner circle. And because of that faith her daughter was miraculously healed. It was a good day, for Jesus never does a crummy miracle.
So what is it that you can take with you this morning, besides a better understanding of why this particular event was recorded? Well let’s see. First of all, and I think the most important thing, is that you now know that all people are welcome into God’s kingdom. Jesus is a tearer down of fences, especially those fences that we love to put up between us those we think are worth less than we are. Or even worse those we think that God loves less than us.
The second thing you can take with you this morning is that faith is important. It not only is required for your salvation, for there is no other way to be saved under heaven or earth, but faith is important for you to receive the blessings God wants to bestow on you.
Last, you can leave here knowing that not only does God respond to faith, but that he also wants you to grow in your faith. So he sometimes will keep quiet, as if he is ignoring you. Sometimes he will allow what appears to be roadblocks to happen in your life, but there never roadblocks only springboards, for your faith to bound off of, so that you trust more and more in him and his good will.
Our most blessed Savior tore down the fence that stood between us and God’s love. Shouldn’t we then be tearing down the fences that separate us from the rest of God’s creation, so that we can fulfill his command to tell others of his saving love? Amen.